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Friday, October 30, 2015

I parked across the street from the antique store/coffee shop/restaurant where I was meeting a friend for our monthly mentoring session. (Truthfully, I'm not sure who mentors who. Though I'm the older one, she manages to bless and enrich me each time we meet). The parking spot is one I've used before, but I'd never before noticed the olive tree growing there. If I was in California it wouldn't be so surprising, but I'd never seen an olive tree growing in Portland, Oregon before... (Join me for the rest of this post on Sunday, November 1st, at Woman to Woman Ministries where I write a weekly post, "Sunday Soul Food".)

Sunday, October 25, 2015

It's raining today. That's normal for our area of the Pacific Northwest, but the last few months have been unusually dry so the rain is as welcome as an old friend. Our former home had huge old growth cedar and fir trees surrounding it. They are beautiful in their own way, but messy and somewhat frightening on gusty days. Our new to us home has one colorful little deciduous tree outside our living room window. The rain running down the windowpane with the warm colors of fall outside on our tree made me pause and give thanks this afternoon. A little Sunday afternoon snooze did as well. There are always things in life I wish were different, but right now, this cozy, rainy Sunday afternoon is enough for me.

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Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my little green journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#6714-#6742

10-19-15-

-the richness of Psalm 119

-thank you, Jesus!

our friend figuring out how to do something that will save us some money on our house renovation

Saturday, October 24, 2015

God wants the inner me to be clothed with peace and gentleness, not anxiety, not being wrought up, (which means agitated, stressed, tense, overwrought, nervous, on edge, keyed up, worked up, flustered, fretful or upset). Let's face it, that's easier said than done when life is chaotic or stressful or when we are walking through times of trial and tribulation. (please join me for the rest of this post on Sunday, October 25th, at Woman to Woman Ministries where I write a weekly Sunday Soul Food post.)

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

There's a fine layer of white sheetrock dust on the furniture and a gas fireplace sitting in the dining room. We're making some renovations on the new to us home that we moved into last month. I just want the whole list of renovations to be done yesterday! I'm feeling restless to have life back to normal after living in some sort of chaos related to moving for three months now.

The Webster's Dictionary definition of renovation is "to make changes or repairs so that it is back in good condition". That's what we're trying to do to this twenty three year old home we bought, and that's what God is continually doing within me. He's wise enough to use things like upheaval and chaos to expose the things in me that are in need of His supernatural renovation. He's kind enough that He doesn't just take a sledgehammer and start demolition. He exposes the trouble spots and waits for me to acknowledge that I see them, too. He shows me the image of His Son so that I see the beauty of what could be. Then He waits for me to willingly open to His knock, let Him in, and allow Him to begin His good work.

There are some things that I've learned from renovations in the past, and the one we're living in right now, that have spiritual lessons as well. Here are a few.

It gets worse before it gets better.

The first step of renovation is demolition, or removing the old. In our case, it meant opening up the wall between the dining room and living room to move the gas fireplace. After that is completed, all of the flooring in the entry, hall, living room, dining room and kitchen will be removed. In order for beautiful new hardwood floors to be installed, the old has to go. When God is wanting to do a beautiful new work in us, it can get pretty ugly and messy while He's dealing with the old stuff that we've hung on to for far too long. This is an important thing to remember when you're praying for or discipling someone else. Sometimes it looks like things are getting worse than ever. It's possible that God is just doing some of the necessary divine demolition work that has to take place before the new thing He wants to do can happen.

It takes longer than you'd like.

I don't think I've ever known anyone who had a remodel or renovation get completed ahead of schedule. Most often things take longer than you'd like. God is never hurried or rushed. He's always right on time. His time. Just like our home renovation, we want God's work in us to happen yesterday. We get frustrated that it's taking so long. The good news is this promise from Philippians 1:6, "...Hewho has begun agoodwork in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return]" and this one from 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] gloryto [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit."The bad news is, we will be under continual renovation, the renewing of our mind and restoring of our soul, until the time of His return! Then we will be fully, completely, perfectly restored. The best news is, God sees us as already completed even while He's still at work in us.

It costs more than you expected.

This thing costs more than you expected it to. (Seven new light fixtures, cha-ching!) You forgot about needing to buy that. (New floors mean new floor molding in all of the main living area of the house!) Spiritual renovation costs more than you expect it to as well. The flesh likes to be pampered. The work of God in you is uncomfortable and costly to the flesh.

It takes the help of others.

My husband is gifted and talented in many areas, but being a handyman is not one of them. I'm crafty and creative, but I'm not one of those DIY divas that can build cabinets and install flooring. So, we've had God-given help with our home renovation. My handyman son-in-law and nephew, a good engineer friend and an electrician friend, to name a few. We are so blessed and we couldn't do this work without them. Similarly, God gives us others to help us where we are weak, to guide us, teach us, encourage us and pray for us as He is doing His good work in us. All of the wonderful people who have helped us on our renovation didn't just barge in one day and start working. We had to admit our need and ask for help. We need to humble ourselves and admit our need for spiritual help and support as well.

It's worth it in the end.

I couldn't believe the difference new paint, new flooring, and other cosmetic changes made in our former home. I loved it! The time, cost and inconvenience involved in the renovations faded in my memory when I saw the finished product. I know that I'm going to love the changes in our current home as well. When God works in us and we see the result of His renovations, for example living in peace instead of in fear and worry, or walking in victory in an area in which we used to be in bondage, we won't regret for a moment the process it took to get us there. It truly is worth it in the end.

Monday, October 19, 2015

It's a challenge for me to live fully in the moment. To-do lists run through my mind. I try to juggle doing several things at once. It's when I'm with others that I'm most mindful of this tendency in myself. I fail all too often to let the tasks go and to be fully present. When I do choose to be all there, to sit still and read books with my granddaughters or take them to the park, to sit and hold my grandson while he drinks his bottle, (the only time he's willing to sit still), I've never regretted it.

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Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my little green journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#6683-#6713

10-12-15-

-God's Word has been my song on life's journey-Psalm 19:54

-slowly finding "a place for everything and everything in it's place" in this new to us house

-oldest granddaughter, still recuperating from her tonsil/adenoid surgery, coming over

Friday, October 16, 2015

The other day I heard Ravi Zacharias say, "There's nothing more beautiful than a Spirit filled personality." Immediately I thought of Ephesians 3:16 in the Amplified Bible. I think sometimes we can use our unique personality traits as an excuse. "I'm just too timid to ever talk to someone about Jesus, that's just not my personality." "I'm just quick tempered, I've always been that way, it's just my personality." I don't think when we come to Christ that God wants or expects us to become someone other than the unique, one of a kind that He created. But, when we allow His Holy Spirit to indwell our innermost being and personality then we become the best us we can be. (To read this full post, I hope you'll join me at Woman to Woman Ministries this Sunday, October 18th where I write a weekly post on Sundays called Sunday Soul Food.)